Category Archives: TASTED FOR YOU

Colli della Toscana Centrale Gagliole

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The magic of the Tuscan countryside, in the heart of Chianti, fascinated and captured Monika and Thomas Bär – Bettschart right from the start, a love at first sight that left no doubt about what would in the future be their Land of Dreams. Their love for Tuscany and for its world-class wines became, as the years succeeded each other, a strong passion.

One part of the vineyards, amounting to 10 hectares, is in Gagliole (Castellina in Chianti). These vines are predominantly planted on age-old terraces, studded with olive trees among the vine-rows, a method of crop-cultivation in use since the Middle Ages, creating spectacular landscapes that excite the wonder of visitors from every part of the globe.
A further 10 hectares are located in Panzano, which lies in the famous Conca d’Oro, a natural amphitheatre which offers ideal growing conditions for every grape variety.

We tasted: Colli della Toscana Centrale Gagliole IGT 2014

This red wine contains Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

Gagliole is characterized by a beautiful ruby red color. The nose offers elegant aromas of ripe fruit, with hints of undergrowth and sweet spices, made from small wood. On the palate it expresses an excellent structure, with tannins present but well polished. The finish proposes very pleasant fruity and spicy sensations.

This wine is perfect for dishes based on grilled red meats and stewed meats. Also excellent for accompanying aged cheese platters and very elaborate first courses.

Taurasi Feudi di San Gregorio 2012

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Irpinia, a historical region of the Campanian Apennines, is a unique vine growing and wine producing territory, where vineyards have always coexisted with fruit trees, woodland, olive trees and herbs

Established in 1986 by two Irpinian families, Feudi di San Gregorio has its roots in the town of Sorbo Serpico in the province of Avellino. Since its early days, the winery focused on the preservation of authentic top quality productions and on the definition of a premium quality standard to meet the highest and most severe market requirements. The territory’s orography causes a system of winds that gives the region good rainfall and creates a microclimate that sets it apart from the other Campania areas.

today represent a real oenological renaissance of southern Italy, promoting a wine culture for the rediscovery of Mediterranean flavours.

We tasted: Taurasi Feudi di San Gregorio 2012

The noblest expression of Aglianico, this wine takes its name from the place of origin of the grapes: the area of Taurasi. The color is ruby red with garnet reflections. We found an intense and complex nose, with hints ranging from ripe red fruit to cinnamon spice, nutmeg and anise. The palate is soft and balanced, supported by a good freshness that makes it a long-lasting wine. This is an excellent wine for drinking with the finest roasted red meats and poultry braised in Aglianico.

Il Picchio 2013, Castello di Querceto

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At Castello di Querceto the majority of the varieties grown are red with only a small percentage of white.
Of the red grapes, Sangiovese grosso obviously takes pride of place, with numerous other varieties including Canaiolo nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Colorino, Merlot, Mammolo, Ciliegiolo and Malvasia Nera.

The white grapes include traditional varieties such as Malvasia del Chianti, Trebbiano toscano and San Colombano as well as Chardonnay. Top quality and environmental sustainability in wine making are the estate’s founding principles. Castello di Querceto  decided not to use chemical fertilisers preferring organic ones and to use natural and integrated techniques in pest control, supplementing this where it is not sufficient with especially mild plant protection treatments.

The harvest normally takes place from the 25th of September to the 25th of October and is mainly done by hand with careful grape selection.

We tasted: Castello di Querceto Il Picchio Gran Selezione 2013

This is a very nice Chianti Classico from Il Picchio vineyards. The colour is ruby to garnet colour, intense jammy black fruits. It has a very minerally nose, cool and stony with flavours of berry and currants. On the palate it reveals ripe cherries and vanilla. It has a definitely a relatively high acidity and firm tannins. In the food paring it is ideal with grilled and game meats, white truffles, stews and aged cheese.

Stupore by Campo alle Comete Bolgheri DOC

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Bolgheri is, above all, a state of mind, a way of life, the rarefied atmosphere of a world thought to no longer exist. As in a mosaic, the single pieces which compose it are of precious materials and colors, but observing them one by one there is no perception of the overall picture. Nature here remains in a pristine state; woods dominate the hillsides which, running parallel to the coast, protect it from winter’s worst cold. And, to the west, sparkles the blue of the sea, a sea which mitigates with its breezes the dog day heat of July and August. The vineyards, often wedged into the green of forest spaces or of ancient olive groves, dominates, together with the silent whistling of the wind, a landscape drawn discretely by the human hand.

The Campo alle Comete estate is located at the foot of Castagneto Carducci, the only municipality that holds the prestigious DOC Bolgheri denomination. Here is also born the “Stupore”, a wine that brings the peculiarity of Tuscan coast to full expression.

 We tasted:  Stupore Campo alle Comete 2015 Bolgheri DOC

“Stupore” is a red from Bolgheri in which four different varieties of international vines meet, which together make up an absolutely excellent blend.
This wine has a beautiful ruby red, deep and intense colour. On the nose it expresses fruity notes of cherry and fresh plum. The taste turns out to be soft, balanced and fresh. Excellent length and sapid the final. It is perfect with meat and especially poultry, it is excellent to accompany stuffed honey duck.

Vecchie viti 2016 by Ruggeri

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The Ruggeri winery was established in 1950 by Giustino Bisol, whose family boasts a deeply rooted, centuries-old tradition in viticulture in the Valdobbiadene area. The Ruggeri winery, which was established in 1950 by Giustino Bisol, was originally housed in small premises in the village of Santo Stefano di Valdobbiadene. Ruggeri owns a small vineyard of Cartizze and 20 hectares on the nearby Montello, 12 of them are cultivated with Pinot Grigio and Glera (traditionally called Prosecco). About 1 hectare is dedicated to the growing of Recantina, an ancient and authochtonous red grape variety which was recovered thanks to the hard work of cooperation with the Istituto Sperimentale Per la Viticoltura di Conegliano (School of Viticulture of Conegliano).

The Ruggeri winery is well equipped to cope with the considerable harvest; it has two fully independent lines for receiving the grapes and 5 ‘soft’ presses, thereby ensuring separation of the various vineyard harvests also at the busiest times.

We tasted: Vecchie viti 2016

“This wine, obtained from the Old Vines of Valdobbiadene, the most beautiful and longlived Prosecche, Bianchette, Verdise and Perere, would be a tribute  to our country and to the memory of all men and women who, with their hands and their heart, made it an extraordinary and fertile land”. Vecchie Viti” (Old Vines), because it is the fruit of grapes coming from old vines between 80 and 100 years old, scattered all over the hills of Valdobbiadene’s territory and not from a single vineyard. The production of this wine need the cooperation of numerous farmers, owners of the best vineyards.

This wine has a light straw color with silvery reflections and a fine perlage. On the nose emerge scents of flowers of lily of the valley, white rose, apple, banana, pear and cedar, embellished with mineral cues and hints of candy. The sip is fresh, simple and continuous, with a subtle and creamy effervescence, savory and with a good final trail of citrus lemon and orange.

For the food pairing is ideal with aperitif, with lake fish and risotto with mushroom.

Sagrantino Montefalco 2012, Pardi Brothers’ Winery

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The story of Pardi Brothers’ Winery begins in 1919 when the brothers Alfredo, Francesco and Alberto Pardi establish the Cantina Fratelli Pardi, that was located on the ground floor of the Saint Marcus Hospital, that belonged to the stately building of Saint Francis in Montefalco.

The Cantina Pardi present winery begins in 2003 in Montefalco beneath the ancient walls and is for the whole production of wine, from the cultivation and the wine-making process to the marketing of the wines. The wine-making room is equipped with stainless steel tanks and is used for the fermentation of the red and white musts and for the preservation of the wines.

An underground room is kept for the ageing of the wines; it is equipped with French barriques and, according to tradition, with big oak barrels from the Alps and Slavonia. Here are bottled and aged the great wines of controlled and guaranteed origin, such as Sagrantino Secco and Passito from Montefalco DOCG, Rosso DOC and Bianco DOC.

The vineyards extend for about 11 hectares and are all located in Montefalco, along the gentle hills of Casale, Campolungo, Pietrauta and Lasignano. The choice of these areas is the result of the long-lasting knowledge of the family concerning the wine vocation of this wonderful territory and we preserve this tradition with loyalty and constancy.

Together with the renowned Sagrantino, the autochthonous vine from Montefalco, the Pardi Brothers’ grow also grapes with red berries, typical of the area, such as Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot ; these grapes, together with Sagrantino, make up the Montefalco Rosso DOC. The Grechetto, Chardonnay and Trebbiano Spoletino vines, with white berries, make up the white wine Colle di Giove DOC.

We tasted: Sagrantino Montefalco 2012

This wine made of Sagrantino vine 100% aged in bottle for 6-8 months.

This Sagrantino is intense and deep ruby red. It opens to the nose giving clear hints of dark fruit that recall ribes, plum jam and sour cherries. In the mouth it is set on an imposing tannins. Important the body, warm in the mouth and with long persistence.

For the food pairing is ideal with red meat with roast meats, hare in salmì, brasati cooked at Sagrantino. Extra hard cheese.

Franco Mondo, wine-makers for generation

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The Mondos have been recognised in the town of San Marzano Oliveto near Asti, in Piedmont, as wine-makers for generations and are, as such, much appreciated.

“The ridge which is home to the Mondo family cellar bears a striking resemblance to the profile of a sleeping woman.” The particolar composition of the soil and a temperate microclimate make it the ideal place for cultivating vines.

The company, which still maintains its artisan, family character, is run by Valerio and his father Franco. Their estate covers about twelve hectares of vineyards, approximately 60 % of which are dedicated to the cultivation of Barbera grapes while the rest is divided between Moscato Bianco, Dolcetto, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cortese, Chardonnay and Favorita varieties.

We tasted: Le Rose Barbera d´Asti Superiore Nizza 2012

This wine made from rigorous selection of grapes Barbera d’Asti 100% in the vineyards. In the vinification the wine is left refinig for 18 month in small french oak barrels which allow it to reach a specific maturity.

The bouquet recall spices, dried roses and vanilla. In the mouth, It has a full body, round and soft in the palate.

This kind of wine is ideal with red meat and game dishes.

Asti DOCG extra dry, Arione

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Arione wine estate led by brothers Mauro and Luca in Castiglione Tinella and Canelli in Piedmont is a family-run business with four generations of Piedmont wine producers.

The company has access to vineyards located in the best Piedmont areas, the Langhe and the Monferrato, where the family jealously guards the initial learnings handed down from the first master winemaker, Luigi Arione, translating them into solid practices.

Arione family has definitely, strong roots connected to the Langhe and Monferrato lands, to the landscapes and the passion for the craft of “making wine”, because being producers here in Piedmont, means great daily challenge.

We tasted: Asti docg extra dry

«Our Extra Dry Asti DOCG, the non-sweet version of the famous Asti DOCG, is a new and innovating product born from the idea of relaunching a sparkling wine that represents the history of our territory and our hills, now belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage” with these words the brothers Mauro and Luca Arione, present their new sparkling wine obtained from Moscato grapes: an absolute novelty that is raising the interest of the market and obtaining the approval among wine-lovers.

This wine is classified “Extra” because it is an extra-dry sparkling wine. In fact, according to the regulations, it has a content of residual sugar between 12 and 17 grams per litre, so clearly less sugar than in the traditional Asti DOCG that has always been produced in sweet version with over 50 grams sugar per litre.

The colour is straw yellow with thin and elegant perlage. The bouquet shows scents reminding sweetness of exotic fruits and the freshness of the garden flowers. In the mouth is well Balanced, fresh savoury and pleasantly dry. It is ideal for a toast with aperitif, fish finger foods and sushi.

 

Brachetto d’Acqui Spumante, la Torre Castel Rocchero

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La Torre Castel Rocchero is a winemakers association founded in 1953 by people form the village of Castel Rocchero in Piedmont, “driven by a single faith in the collaboration of free spirits,” as the scroll commemorating the first harvest tells us, “for a fuller utilization of our wine, synonymous with the improvement in the family and social economy.”

The vinary tower is a bulwark, a symbol of presence and a lookout and reference point in the whole Monferrato. Its shape is unmistakable as its lure: planted in between the vineyards, bumps and ridges designed by vines and grapes of Barbera or Dolcetto, Moscato or Brachetto.

The vineyards draw the landscape for 300 hectares between the high hills of Nizza Monferrato and Acqui Terme. Here they are able to interpret at their best all those varieties typically grown in this area of Piedmont.

We tasted:  Brachetto d’Acqui Spumante

Brachetto is produced in a small area, between the provinces of Asti and Alessandria. This is a special wine that has always been drunk with great parsimony in the days of great occasions.

It has a ruby red color with tendency to garnet clear and rosy, with persistent foam. The bouquet has scents of rose and ripe fruit, while its taste is fresh, lively and with musk notes.

In the food pairing this wine is ideal as aperitif and with a dessert after a meal. Wonderful companion of lightly sour fruit, such as strawberries and peaches, it gives good results in the preparation of wine cocktails, marrying it with liqueurs, bitters and vermouth.

Dolcetto Novello S. Martino, cantine Volpi

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Cantine Volpi was founded in Tortona in 1914. Since then, through four generations it has been the protagonist of a continuous evolution that has led it to be a reference reality in the Piedmont wine industry, an authentic expression of the Tortona hills.

A company that has always been oriented towards innovation: between the ’70s and’ 90s with the Cortese Docg of the Tortona Hills it has established itself in Italy as the main protagonist of the launch of the ‘sparkling white wine natural’, a forerunner of the planetary successes of Prosecco and of Franciacorta.
In the same period Cantine Volpi brought the Barrique to the winery and started the production and marketing of Vino Novello. In the 90s it was among the first wineries to marry with determination the choice of Bio in large numbers, which today accounts for 70% of production.

At the end of the 90s, when in Italy there was not yet an organic wine market, Carlo Volpi with pioneering spirit, decided to satisfy an English customer who required a selection of the best Italian wines produced organically. Thus the first experimental line of organic wines was born.

We tasted: Dolcetto Novello S. Martino 2017

This wine produced in Colli Tortonesi area by Dolcetto grapes, has an intense rubin red colour. In the nose is vinous, characteristic, pleasant. In the mouth is dry with a discreet body and harmonious.

For the food pairing this wine is ideal with local and regional cuisine from Piedmont, and in autumns is also excellent with roasted chestnuts.

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